1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recognition device and an imaging apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Background
There is known an image tracking device for storing an image of a target to be focused as a reference image (template image), detecting an image that matches the reference image from repeatedly photographed images through template matching process, and tracking the target (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-058431). In this device, the reference image is updated with the image that matches the reference image among the photographed images when determined that one part of the photographed image matches the reference image.
In the conventional image tracking device described above, however, when photographing a scene in which the tracking target approaches the camera, the size of the tracking target in the screen becomes larger as the tracking target approaches the camera, and an update delay of the reference image (template image) occurs when the movement speed of the tracking target is fast, whereby determination might be made that the image of the tracking target does not match the reference image although the target is being tracked.